Mthwakazi Restoration Movement takes stand on Bulawayo's 'foreign' mayor issue

Over the past few months and several weeks the residents of Bulawayo have been dealt a heavy blow in the form of political party politics and electorate disrespect channelled to the city's residents through the appointment of Tinashe Kambarami by the Nelson Chamisa MDC Alliance party.

1893MRM has learnt, with evidence provided through the courts as well as media reports that Tinashe Kambarami is a convicted criminal with financial related charges including theft. The Chronicle newspaper of Bulawayo reported the following on Kambarami in its article of September 15 2018, "According to court records, Kambarami (32) was in July under CRB 1981/18, convicted on his own plea of guilty to theft by Bulawayo magistrate, Ms Sharon Rosemani."

The following is also an interesting excerpt from the same issue of the Chronicle of September 15 2018,

 "Constitutional lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, said legally Kambarami can only removed from office through a court order.

Legally once one is declared duly elected it is not automatic that they leave office unless there is a court order to nullify that. We are therefore saying someone will have to go to court, be it a voter or some interested party. In essence, it means that Kambarami remains a councillor and deputy mayor until a competent court has declared him unfit to remain in office," he said."  

Our Movement for the Restoration of Mthwakazi, finds it criminal not only on the part of Kambarami but as well as the MDC Alliance which had an obligation to do reasonable or thorough background checks and declarations of the legal standings of all its nominated officials meant to run for office throughout Zimbabwe. Clearly in the case of Kambarami the MDC Alliance either turned a blind eye or colluded in the illegal nomination of Kambarami to represent the party both as Councillor and ultimately as Deputy Mayor of Bulawayo.

There can be no argument that the electorate voted Kambarami into office, because the electorate had no investigative obligations beyond putting their trust in the party's nominations with the hope that the party was fielding candidates in the best interests of the electorate. What the MDC Alliance did with Kambarami is a complete betrayal of trust to the community of Bulawayo and most importantly it is an illegal act that continues to exist against the MDC Alliance for as long as Kambarami remains a self-confessed convicted criminal employed to the City's second highest municipal office.

What is further disturbing is also the fact that numerous high profile lawyers in Bulawayo especially, and also across the country in general have made their legal opinions known about the illegality of Kambarami's appointment as Bulawayo's Deputy Mayor and Councillor of Ward 3, yet non of these lawyers have taken it upon themselves as vested citizens of Bulawayo to use their authority as community legal representatives with legal capacity and resources to bring a case to the courts against the MDC Alliance and Tinashe Kambarami for mutual abuse of public trust as well as conspiring to an illegal Act of nominating a convicted criminal to public office in violation of the following laws –

According to section 119 (2) (e) of the Electoral Act: Section 41 (7) and Section 41 (8)  of the Urban Councils Act.

Bulawayo lawyer and Law Society of Zimbabwe councillor Mr Godfrey Nyoni was also reported by media to have given very strong opinions on the illegalities surrounding the legitimacy of Kambarami if he is in office while a convicted criminal.

In August 2018 Kambarami was issued with summons for civil imprisonment over a debt of about $40 000 in rentals and legal costs. The legal costs emanated from a two year legal battle between Kambarami and the National Railways of Zimbabwe Contribution Pension Fund (NRZCPF) resulting in Kambarami being evicted from the NRZCPF building in Bulawayo after failing to pay $11 300,64 rental arrears including holding over damages of $1 250 per month calculated from September 29, 2015 to September 2018.

Our position as 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement (1893MRM) is that, owing to the above claims and criminal charges, Kambarami, and ultimately MDC Alliance under Nelson Chamisa must be legally held accountable in the courts of law. This is not a matter of party politics and MDC Alliance internal power squabbles. This is about the lives of Bulawayo residents and their monies that are entrusted with the public office of Bulawayo's Mayor and his Deputy. This is about officials using unscrupulous, criminal disrespectful means to deceive the electorate in order to get into public office. Bulawayo must stand as one and remove the criminal officers from our public offices.